Tag Archives: mogul

Former Man United director Dyke voted as new FA chairman, replacing outgoing Bernstein

By
Charles Sale

PUBLISHED:

11:30 GMT, 21 March 2013

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UPDATED:

11:54 GMT, 21 March 2013

Former Manchester United director and TV mogul Greg Dyke has been voted through as the next FA chairman, replacing the outgoing incumbent David Bernstein.

Dyke, 65, will replace Bernstein when he leaves the post after two-and-a-half years in July – and takes the helm from Saturday July 13.

Dyke told the FA website: 'Football has always been a big part of my life whether playing 11-a-side on Sunday mornings or six-a-side on Thursday evenings.

Main man: Former United director Dyke will take the helm at the FA

'I was brought up in a household where my father was much more interested in whether or not you had won at football than whether you had passed your exams. In my case that was just as well.

'I still turn out to play six-a-side some Thursday evenings although at my age I seem to spend more time injured than playing.

'I supported my local team Brentford as a kid where my elder brother was a junior, watched York City while at university and followed Manchester United whenever I could.

'I got involved in how the game was run
when I was first involved in buying sports rights as Chairman of ITV
Sport in the late eighties and later at the BBC.

Game over: Bernstein's (left) tenure at the FA will soon come to an end

'I learnt a lot in the years when I was on the Board of Manchester United and have seen the other side of the professional game at Brentford.'

The FA said in a statement: 'The Football Association Board has today unanimously approved the nomination for Greg Dyke to be appointed independent FA chairman.

'Dyke, 65, will take over as chairman from David Bernstein when he leaves the post after two-and-a-half years in July – subject to approval by the FA council. The appointment will take effect from Saturday, July 13.

Football man: Dyke's local team while growing up was Brentford – where he became non-executive chairman in 2006

'This follows a recruitment process led
by FA independent director Roger Devlin (chairman of the nominations
committee) with fellow board members Roger Burden and Keith Lamb.

'In a high-profile broadcasting industry career, Dyke has worked as director general of the BBC and managing director of London Weekend Television.

'Dyke has had a long background in football. He was a director of Manchester United in the late nineties and since 2006 he has been non-executive chairman of Brentford Football Club, the team he supported as a boy. He will relinquish this role at the end of the season to take up his new post at the FA.'

Red alert: United director Gill (seen with Dyke) is also on the FA board

Football League set for sponsorship shortfall as npower deal nears end

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 2 October 2012

The Football League are facing considerable commercial problems, with energy company npower due to pull the plug on their title sponsorship when a three-year deal expires at the end of the season.

The exclusive renewal negotiating period ended this week for npower, who paid a premium 21million for the rights. But the Football League will have difficulty attracting another backer at a similar rate, especially with BBC no longer covering Championship matches live.

In addition, the Football League’s online betting partner negotiations with BetButler have been complicated by the funding problems of software providers Worldlink Sports. They have yet to pay monies owed for similar deals struck with Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham.

And Brighton are leading strong objections about the new umbrella Football League club website platform being run by US digital media company SapientNitro that has been beset with teething difficulties this season.

In fact, npower have been surprisingly lacklustre in making the most of their Football League property ever since the driving power behind their sponsorship, marketing director Kevin Peake, was made redundant in a cost- cutting company restructuring last year.

Peake, who now runs Aviva’s sports marketing operation, set up a number of Football League promotional initiatives that an increasingly uninterested npower did not develop.

CAA expanding

Hollywood entertainment agency giants CAA, who lost confidence in former Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon building a European sports empire, have nevertheless funded their new offshoot company CAA Eleven, run by Frenchmen Olivier Guiguet and Stephane Schindler.

They have given a guarantee of around 1billion for centralised UEFA TV rights for the Euro 2016 tournament and qualifying and World Cup 2018 preliminary games in Europe.

Gerrard recognised

England captain Steven Gerrard is to be honoured by the Football Writers’ Association at their annual tribute dinner on January 20.

Terry unsure

There are understood to be mixed opinions in the John Terry camp over whether the Chelsea captain, who has retired from international football, should appeal against the four-game FA ban and 220,000 fine for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. The decision will be made after the FA publish independent QC Craig Moore’s full report of the disciplinary commission case this week.

In two minds: John Terry (centre) has yet to decide whether to appeal

Green light for Red Nev

The conflict of Gary Neville’s joint role as a lead Sky football pundit and assistant to England manager Roy Hodgson was exposed by his TV comments this week hinting that Rio Ferdinand had ‘lost a yard of pace’ and would not be in the next England squad.

Neville’s remarks, which included him saying ‘how divisive’ it can be to have a 34 or 35-year-old sitting in the stands at a World Cup, did not go down well with Ferdinand’s advisors. And Neville discussing with Hodgson what he was going to say about Ferdinand hardly makes for independent impartial analysis.

However, Sky Sports boss Barney Francis has said he has no qualms about Neville’s double life. Nor do the FA, who believe it is helpful having an England insider in a high-profile TV role.

Conflict Gary Neville (right) is involved with both England and Sky television

Cook finds time for himself

Alastair Cook, the England cricket captain who married last New Year’s Eve, has only just found time for a honeymoon. Cook and wife Alice, who live on a Bedfordshire farm, are going on a busman’s holiday to a ranch in Argentina.

Ashley in the market

The demise of England shirt suppliers Umbro is such that even their cut-price sell-off by parent company Nike, who have taken over the prime kit contracts with the FA and Manchester City, has been put on the back burner.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, overlord of Sports Direct, is favourite to buy the Umbro brand but not the company headquarters in Cheadle which staff expect to close. Ashley is busy cherrypicking the best 20 stores belonging to collapsed High Street retailer rivals JJB Sports in a 24m deal.

The British Olympic Association are in turmoil just weeks after the momentous success of Team GB at London 2012 because of bitter in-fighting at the top of the organisation.

The divides have been sparked by chairman Lord Moynihan’s surprise decision to quit a year early with the BOA facing financial problems and many staff unsure of their futures in the downsizing after a home Games.

Even with hot favourite Lord Coe waiting to take over and his stardust urgently required to bring in missing sponsorship, the BOA board have been split over the succession process.

BOA lawyers, faced with an unclear rule book, persuaded the directors to keep to their agreed election date of November 7 even when some board members wanted to fast track Coe in a fortnight earlier because of the impending sponsorship crisis.

Hot favourite: Lord Coe

The mess was summed up by chief executive Andy Hunt in first rushing through his re-structuring agenda before the election of the new chairman and then jetting off to Brazil on a 2016 Games recce.

Yet his priority had to be to talk over proposed changes with his department heads.

Director of sport Sir Clive Woodward, whose role is not part of Hunt’s leaner blueprint, was due to leave the BOA in any case after London.

But a Coe-led regime would want Woodward to stay on in a part-time capacity as the potential chef de mission for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and Rio.

Even if the acrimony between Hunt and
Woodward meant Sir Clive leaving before Coe’s arrival, it’s likely he
would be immediately re-hired for one or two days a week.

To
add to the debacle, Hunt is being advised to consult with Coe before
making any staff alterations. Yet he can hardly do that with GB Hockey
chief Richard Leman due to stand against Coe in the election despite
having no chance of winning.

And
Leman, a board ally of Lord Moynihan, who has influenced him to
challenge Coe, intends to canvass the 40-strong electorate on the
grounds that his leadership style would put more emphasis on minor
sports.

Arch politician
Moynihan’s exit strategy is confusing, to say the least. Having urged
Leman to stand, he was one of those wanting an early election that would
have hurried his foe Coe into office.

To
cap it all, suppliers Next are still trying to shift Team GB scarves,
the BOA merchandise which failed to sell during the Games, by slashing
the price to 50p.

Gold medals for all

The
awards season which stretches from October to May 2013 — when the Sport
Industry Group will be dolling out an absurd 19 gongs — is going to be
one long lap of honour for the Olympics.

So the short-listed Premier
League chief executive Richard Scudamore will know Lord Coe is certain
to be named City AM’s business personality of the year on October 17.

Roy does the rounds

Building bridges: Hodgson

After
the next international week in October, England manager Roy Hodgson and
assistant Ray Lewington intend to visit every Premier League club to
build relationships.

Following
Sir Alex Ferguson’s recent upset at the FA revealing an Ashley Young
injury, Old Trafford is unlikely to be the first port of call, although
Hodgson has said his relationship with Sir Alex remains cordial.

Pitch battle

Grassroots
Gloucestershire rugby club Drybrook keeping their main pitch in
pristine condition for the unlikely England kit launch there this week
meant a recent match between Cirencester third XV and Drybrook seconds
took place on a far less manicured surface.

Sadly, Daily Telegraph
sports journalist Matt Scott, a Cirencester back row forward, lost a
stud in the extra long grass shortly before snapping an anterior
cruciate ligament.

Data supply up for grabs

The
Premier League, on course for a 5billion haul from domestic and
overseas TV contracts, can even make plenty of money from their official
data supply contract.

The
Press Association, who hold the rights, are likely to be outbid in the
current tender by digital media companies Perform or Opta.